Were The Warriors Planning On Permanently Benching Klay Thompson For Brandon Podziemski?

Today marked the end of an era for the Golden State Warriors. After months of speculation, Klay Thompson has finally decided to call it quits and leave the Bay Area. Thompson signing a deal with the Dallas Mavericks led to various reactions from fans, players, analysts, and even legends. But many are questioning where exactly it all went wrong.

There had been rumors of the Golden State Warriors possibly considering diminishing Klay’s role to the bench. But was the fact that the Warriors chose Brandin Podziemski over Klay the reason for his departure?

Well, in a nutshell, the answer is yes. As per Yahoo Sports senior NBA reporter Jake Fischer, the Warriors were indeed planning on bringing Klay Thompson off the bench behind Brandin Podziemski for the upcoming season.

“Flashing forward, if Thompson had returned to Golden State, the Warriors planned to bring Thompson off the bench behind sophomore guard Brandin Podziemski, sources said, after Golden State started its prized rookie for a good stretch during the second half of last season.”

The Warriors planned to bring Klay Thompson off the bench behind Brandin Podziemski next season, per @JakeLFischer

“Flashing forward, if Thompson had returned to Golden State, the Warriors planned to bring Thompson off the bench behind sophomore guard Brandin Podziemski,… pic.twitter.com/MXk0YmWQNu

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 1, 2024

In his last season with the Warriors, Klay Thompson played a total of 77 games. And out of those 77 games, he only started in 69 of those matchups. While that may not have been a big difference last year, Thompson’s role would’ve been a bit different with Golden State going forward.

But in all fairness, the Warriors only wanted to do what was best for the team. No doubt Klay Thompson had been one of the best spot-up shooters in the past decade. He also helped the Warriors win four championships.

However, when looking at his performance and point production, there was more than a steady decline in his numbers. While on the other hand, Brandin Podziemski’s trajectory was only going up.

So, were the Warriors wrong in shifting Thompson to the bench and bringing Podziemski to the starting five? Well, it seems as if the fanbase is divided into two parts, with neither one backing down from their take.

The Warriors may have also lowballed Klay Thompson

Apart from a diminished role with the Golden State Warriors, Klay Thompson also had a problem with the team lowballing him with a new contract this past season. According to Richard Jefferson, Klay Thompson has a right to be mad. 

“[Klay] turned their franchise around. That franchise is worth billions of dollars not just because of Stephen Curry. It’s also because of Klay.”

"[Klay] turned their franchise around. That franchise is worth billions of dollars not just because of Stephen Curry. It's also because of Klay." 👀 @Rjeff24 says Klay Thompson had a right to be mad with the Warriors during his contract negotiations ✍️ pic.twitter.com/IqlVD0BnKs

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) July 2, 2024

Jefferson also narrated a story of this past Christmas, getting off the elevator and running into the former Warriors guard. And while telling Klay to keep his mind right, Thompson revealed how he was upset over his contract, saying, “Man, tell them to pay me my money.”

The Warriors gave out extravagant contracts to Draymond Green and Jordan Poole. But when you look at the amount of contribution Green and Poole had as opposed to Klay Thompson, the situation does start to make sense. And it also justifies Thompson’s decisions going forward.

The five-time All-Star is now a part of the Dallas Mavericks, teaming up with the likes of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Let’s see if Klay can rejuvenate his game, in what could be, his last few years in the league.